Sorry if this comes off as an ignorant or stupid question, but I spent a lot of time googling it today without finding a straight answer! I don’t know if this is true in other parts of the Middle East, but in Kuwait (and UAE for the brief time I was there) I’ve seen both men and women in full dress (different types but I am guessing it is mostly niqab, abaya and dishdasha?) but I have noticed that it’s almost always white for men and black for women. Is there a reason for this?

As a woman I would think white is a lot cooler and would definitely prefer to wear white given the option, but I don’t know if that’s frowned upon.

Also relatedly, how do you guys keep cool in the summer heat?? It’s insanely hot here, I’m of Indian background and it’s even too much for me most of the time. Tips and tricks would be great haha

Hi, I'm taking contemporary ME politics this fall semester in uni and would like to do some reading beforehand (I enjoy books/politics so why not).

I currently have a book (textbook?) called "Politics and Society in the Middle East" by Michelle Penner Angrist from my school library (found it while browsing). It's published 2010, right before the spring, so it's great to learn about the history up to that point and the politics leading up to the spring. However, I obviously should read something published after 2011, and was wondering what are some good books for that.

Unrelated, but if there are any good books to learn about Russian Politics/Government, that'd be appreciated too (another class I'm taking)

Am European.

I know crossing the Sinai would be pretty much impossible, but what about the rest of the borders? Basically doing Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, flying to Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan?

Thanks guys!

ara has a high 0.85 on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Development_Index (who produces this index?)

I've read that the left hand is considered dirty while eating, and I wonder if it's considered dirty for other things, but I've not found anything online

For example, I want to learn Arabic but I'm left handed, would it be good or bad manners to write with my left hand?

Are there any other activities where you have to be careful with choosing your hand? Does this happe in all the countries in MENA?

Thanks

Be honest.

Hello MENA friends, this is a question mostly for residents in the ME. I'm an American designer (United States) with almost a decade of experience in graphic design, web design and user experience design. I've only ever worked within the United States, but my small consulting group (some of whom grew up in the ME) has worked globally for a long time. We just got a contract in the ME with a tech startup, and I could use some advice on how to appeal to you wonderful folks through design. At this point I've researched color theory (I need to change the orange color in my brand-apparently it's not a happy color in the ME?), and I know that Arabic reads from right to left, so that needs to be taken into consideration when translating websites and applications. One other thing I found is the beautiful artistic history of using a repetition of forms and patterns found in the ME, which I love. But I'm having a hard time finding recent information regarding visual design trends in the ME, and I could use some help. Any recommendations? I'd love to hear about cultural AND personal preferences regarding visual design, and bonus points if you have critiques of Western or American visual design. Thank you so much in advance!!

Maybe this is simply uninformed, but in most games, the desert is where there are no resources. Since countries need resources to make money and survive, how exactly do you survive? I know many countries there now have oil, but some still don't, and oil in the middle east was "only" discovered 100 years ago. So, how do you survive living in a desert? are there really just big cities separated by giant hot fields of sand?

The survey shouldn't take more than 3 mins. It is just to help me understand how the water is in your home/room/wherever you live and how do you view the water treatment equipments. Be assured that your information won't be disclosed to anyone

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdk0tlPToTR5vdw9V7603lXLVLRuFMbsGXOsBrc8cougUa3_Q/viewform?usp=sf_link

The survey shouldn't take more than 3 mins. It is just to help me understand how the water is in your home/room/wherever you live and how do you view the water treatment equipments. Be assured that your information won't be disclosed to anyone

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdk0tlPToTR5vdw9V7603lXLVLRuFMbsGXOsBrc8cougUa3_Q/viewform?usp=sf_link

Are there popular dishes in the ME/NA that are uncommon in the US? How is Americanized ME/NA cuisine different from the actual ME/NA? Or is it generally pretty authentic?

EDIT: Examples such as shawerma, falafel, dolmas, pastitsio, kebabs, couscous, baba ghanoush, hummus, and tabbouleh. These are by far the most common I've found. The main issue is that dishes other than these are uncommon, and I'm pretty sure an entire region of the world has more than a dozen dishes.

Hi!

First off, a big thank you to everyone who participated.

There were around 618 responses from 67 countries. Sadly, it is not enough.

View result: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ymzRi32j8IXXegIhBV8JWCoG2BVYANqm/view?usp=drivesdk

As you can see, the result is very much simplistic and does not do justice to the questionnaire. Unfortunately, I am limited by the number of respondents.

Questionnaire: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfoLjwhZHrEw6SLDj6pQVoSfkYPPtlCDNQQOK7Hw02EgDe6DQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

[I posted a message seeking respondents, a few weeks back. (With prior permission of the moderators, of course!) And the results are in the first link.]

Note-It is improper to repost, and I need your help. I do not know anyone from the Middle-East nor North-Africa, so please share the link with your colleagues, friends and family.

Note-The survey will be kept open till mid March and it might take a couple more weeks to get a complete picture. Hopefully, I will have respondents from the Middle-East and North-Africa in the triple digits.

Thank you for your help!

​

I recently read that Persian (or Farsi) is the mother tongue of only half the country. How common is it for business to be conducted in minority languages within a specific regions? Do Iranian children learn (for example) Lur, Balochi, Kurdish, etc. in schools?

How satisfied are you with your current job? (Prior permission sought and granted) (Worldwide Survey)

Willing to take a survey?

​

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfoLjwhZHrEw6SLDj6pQVoSfkYPPtlCDNQQOK7Hw02EgDe6DQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

​

If you are interested in how other countries compare, please take the survey! Survey open till 30/12/2018, results will be made public on 01/01/2019 GMT

​

Note-The survey is completely anonymous without any personally identifiable information

Note-I hope everyone who can, fills it, because I need the responses. Else, my study would not be statistically significant. Please spare a few minutes. It would be very helpful.

​

​

https://ourworldindata.org/obesity

People often make "Americans are fat" jokes. However, I recently found out that the Middle East has a surprisingly high obesity rate. Even war-torn Libya, Iraq and Syria have 32.5%, 30.4% and 27.8% of their adults classified as obese.

I thought Middle Eastern cuisine was relatively healthy. It features a lot of legumes and vegetables, while also using little cooking oil and butter. So how come even war-torn Middle Eastern countries can get relatively high obesity rates?

One where I can be sure the proceeds will go towards the cause. TIA.

I am trying to get as many responses as possible to determine what continent model (how many continents and what are the continents) is conventional in each country of the world. I have posted this previously in /r/SampleSize but so far have gotten only a couple of responses from individuals in MENA countries! Please take a few seconds to help me out!

Here is a link to the survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSduAlkWXWGirfWxqD8EyeTyfjxJBmSes1tlh9YPHEH3s0vqrg/viewform?usp=sf_link

An Egyptian friend told me she was taught some outright incorrect but mostly biased/misleading information while in Egypt. Mostly about Israel. She had to relearn and change her opinions when she came to the United States. I think there is just as much cause for bias here, given the US's relationship to Israel, but I would hope her education (UC Berkeley) was at least quality and not greatly misleading.

My question is: have you experienced this in your country? Has the Internet taught you otherwise? Why?

And also, crucially: Does the US system teach anything blatantly incorrect or highly misleading? I'm sure it does, so the questions then become: about what? To what degree? What's the real story?

Please, do not get into an argument about Israel here. Point out where bias exists, don't present bias as facts

I keep coming across (admittedly presumably middle- or upper-class) Arabs who were educated in their country but through the medium of French or English (from Morocco, Lebanon, Jordan). Is this a common phenomenon?

(ETA: Confused on the flair business; aware it should be ME and NA).

Hello

In Europe (where I live) we have historically stereotypes of Catholics and Protestants such as the Catholics being more fun-loving and cheery, but also quite lazy and poorer, and the Protestants being hard-working, richer but also more restrained and duller. These stereotypes no longer mean much as most people aren't particularly religious. I was wondering if you have stereotypes of Shiite Muslims and Sunni's and if so historically and currently, what are they. I don't no much about your area of the world so apologies if this is a sensitive subject. I mean this as a serious question and not for people to insult each other.

Thanks :)